Monday, 25 October 2010

I need a bit of help today. I've been asked to have a stall at a fundraising evening. and I'm panicking about having things to sell. I decided it would be a good idea to have some small inexpensive things and set about making some brooches. or in truth I set about making some tangled messes, and then some brooches. the ones above need adorning with something.

these ones have a button.

and these ones which are works in progress as well can't decide whether they'd like buttons or beads, or sparkly glass marbles (glued on probably - if it works???)

what do you think? do you think people will buy them? how much do you think I should charge? which ones do you like best? which adornments are the best do you think?

sorry for being so demanding, help yourself to a cookie in return. they really are very good. Monica has the recipe. but a word of warning. they don't last long................... xxx

need a change from grey autumn colour?how about gorgeous spring like colours and a zingy floral pattern. I won this kit in a giveaway from Kellie at Don't look now, she has a wonderful colourful blog, and an amazing shop full of sewing goodness.

I got a whole kit with all the goodies to make a gorgeous cushion,

and two more fantastic patterns.I'm going to be busy, and even though I'm frantically making gifts and things for a sale, these are going to be for me xxx

I am still waiting for Bill to come from the library and change my life. If he doesn't come soon I will resort to feeding my family beans on toast every night.....there was a glimmer of hope in the everyday dinner dilemma as Miss K is doing food technology and so for two Tuesdays in a row she has brought home dinner.first we had cottage pie. which was a joy. send ingredients into school. put assembled pie in oven when it gets home for 30 minutes and serve.

last Tuesday it was chicken biryani. which was not such an effortless creation. first we had to send some of the ingredients pre-prepared.including 500g cooked basmati rice.any of you know how much uncooked rice you need to make that?no, me neither.in the effort to make sure we had enough I of course cooked far too much..and then the food health and safety bells started ringing.rice is a prime target for botulism poisoning, you need to be really careful about storing and reheating it. then there were eggs to boil. this was easier than trying to pack raw eggs, so I'll forgive the teacher this one.....and there were two trips to the supermarket, I forgot the coriander the first time.....and then off it all went, with plenty of ice packs to keep it fresh. at least till it got to school.

it looked delicious when it came home, but I wasn't totally sure the chicken was cooked through, and so reheating it became an important challenge. boiled eggs explode when you microwave them. so do whole cherry tomatoes. I know that now!

today the teacher has decided that having the whole class cook at once is too much for her, and so they are working in pairs. next week will be Miss K's turn to cook. so there will be no dinner tonight. I can't decide if I'm disappointed or not.........

Wednesday, 6 October 2010

usually we don't have a choice, the car being in use... and I actually approve of walking to school, it's not that far, 15 minutes, less if we hurry! and the walking time allows us to chat, to connect, to dicuss what's going to or has happened. breakfast times are rushed and getting out of the house can be a trying time, but once the door is shut, we set off then we leave the crossness behind somehow, and the totter down the hill is a time to regain some sense of perspective. equally the walk home is often my only chance to find out what has happened in the day, once the children get in the house all thoughts turn to snacks/tv/homework/friends/what's for dinner? so if I miss my chance then I never learn that Miss T the maths teacher lost 3 of her stick insects, or that Mr B got the most chips at lunch, or who won at chess. it's a precious time.

but this morning it was raining. REALLY raining. and both children looked out of the window at the rain, and the car. "please please please can we go in the car?"

and I caved in.

it was AWFUL. everyone else in the world was driving to school, plus chool buses, and the local buses, and the bin men.

and we didn't chat at all..........

I'm glad it's stopped raining because I'm walking to collect them. and tomorrow if (when) it rains I shall be wearing my wellies and jumping in puddles. x

I'm Tess. I live near the coast in Northumberland where I drink a lot of tea, bake gluten free cakes, make quilts, and walk on the beach. The rest of the family includes J - understanding hubby, Miss K - 16, usually found with her head in a book, and E - 14 - already taller than me.